Last Night
by Seph Lorraine
Summary: [ Complete - Squinoa, Selvine, Zeltis ] Irvine is no longer skeptic about the topic of ghosts, and he'll surely never forget Halloween again, after last night.


Author's Note :: I know it's early, but I wanted to go ahead and post it. This fic was started almost a year ago and was incomplete until today (26/10/02) when I sat down and suddenly felt like finishing it. It's taken me all day. I'm sorry for some of the spelling and grammatical errors, but I tried. It's kind of weird, but I'm proud of it. Just a little fic to celebrate Halloween. I will also have another FFVIII halloween fic up before the week is up (much shorter, though), and it will be a Squinoa, so look for that, too! Enjoy!  
  
Contact :: http://www.geocities.com/sephlorraine/dream.html ...The Inc. Site. For other needs of contact: sephlorraine@yahoo.com bitte.  
  
Disclaimer :: Final Fantasy VIII is a figment of your imagination... As a non-existant game, it is owned by -all- of us, for we are simply non- existant people owning a non-existant game, that realistically belongs to Squaresoft Inc. and SONY enterprises of Nippon... Damnit.  
  
  
  
Last Night By Seph Lorraine  
  
  
  
Ok, last night was horrible. It was scary and creepy, and just downright weird. Now before you go making any rather suspicious assumptions, let me explain what I mean by this. The dreams it's given me have rid me of sleep for a long time to come. What kind of dreams am I talking about, you ask? Well, I suppose you had better have a seat, if you really wish me to explain.  
  
Last night I had been paying a much delightful visit to a 'friend'. Well, things are always pretty strange when I'm with her and this night was no exception... Selphie, my 'friend' that I went to visit, lives right across the hall from where I happen to be staying, currently. When I knocked on her door that evening, I was all ready for the group date coming up tonight with all of my friends and this special 'friend'. Um... Well, I didn't expect the evening to be this wild!  
  
Now, I know what you're thinking, and stop it! Your provacative illusions are making me nervous... which is one of the many odd results of what happened last night. Now, don't even get back on that track you were on before!  
  
Last night tested my skepticism beyond extent, and even in the matter of Selphie's ghostly room-mates.  
  
So, Selphie has been telling me, for about a month now, that she thinks her dorm room is haunted. Now, explain to me how an overly happy little ball of sunshine like Selphie, who gets high on blowing things up and driving cars at insanely fast limits-- impossible for any human to sustain anything other than the dexterity of a soggy pancake through, can be completely terrified at the idea that there is a ghost living in her room. I am beginning to question her mentality. Maybe she's just evolved ahead of the rest of our race? Maybe she's just really lonely (no, I'm not suggesting anything)?  
  
When I knocked on her door, it imediately opened and she pulled me in quickly, slamming the door shut. She was all over me in a second- no, not that way - as she began glancing around nervously and using me as a sheild against her room. She shuddered in apparent fear behind me, raising her head up only enough to let her glassy green eyes scan over the room.  
  
"Shhh! They're watching us!" She put her hand over my mouth as I was just about the ask her what the hell was going on.  
  
"I don't know where they are, but they're in here, and they're watching us, Irvy! What do we do?" She whimpered quietly.  
  
"Shhh! They can hear you!" She clamped her hand down tighter against my mouth as I was about to answer her question. Of course, this was normal Selphie behavior -- I've gotten used to it by now. Have you noticed?  
  
We stood like that for a moment or two, me beginning to get dizzy of oxygen deprivation (she managed to cover my nose, too), and her cowering behind my back. I guess that when my face turned blue she decided to let go of me.  
  
"They're gone for now," She removed her palm and stepped out from behind me, glancing around cautiously, "But they'll be back."  
  
"Selphie, what is going on?" I lifted by hat just a bit and quirked one of my eyebrows in a very quistislike manner.  
  
"The ghosts! They keep teasing me..." She frowned, her shiney emerald eyes sparkling up at me.  
  
I smiled, very amused, and wrapped my arms around her in a loose hug, "How is that so?"  
  
Her head rested lightly upon my chest and she whispered softly.  
  
"They have a bet... Whoever scares me the worst gets to possess me." She tiled her head up at me. This is why I'm wondering about her sanity. I really don't want to waste my time on paying some priest to tie her to a bed and douse her with holy water. And I'm not very turned on by the thought of her spewing projectile vomit the colour of pea-soup.  
  
I barely contained by laughter, and smiled widely, "And what are you gonna do about it?"  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Yes, you."  
  
"Why me?"  
  
"They're your ghosts."  
  
"Bill, Fred, and Joe know me too well, though... They live with me, they'll do horrible things if I try to stop them." She glanced down at her feet, biting her lower lip.  
  
"Bill, Fred, and Joe?"  
  
"The ghosts!" Insert your sigh and eyerolling here.  
  
"Oh... That's great..." I paused, "They're all guys?" Please be aware that this is hardly relavant to what happened to us last night.  
  
"No... Fred is a... Well... I'm not sure what Fred is." I would assume he was a guy, but there must be something worth doubting about him... or her. Selphie's never too shy to ask anyone anything- even if it is 'Excuse me, are you a man or a woman?'  
  
"Can I live here, too?" I threw a random joke in to lighten her mood.  
  
"It's against garden regulations, Irvine."  
  
"Well you have three other guys living with you. What's wrong? Haven't got room for a fourth?" I smiled and shook my head. "Listen, don't worry about it. It's just your imagination. Fred, Bob, and Gary can go-"  
  
"Bill, Fred, and Joe." She was quick to correct me. How evil is that?  
  
"-Yes, yes, whatever. The point is, they're just ghosts. If your at loss for what to do to them, just point a laugh and say 'Ha ha! You're dead!'." I stepped back, taking another look at her. "Got me?"  
  
"I guess..." She pouted in her childishly, cute, manner, and the evening continued.  
  
Now, the evening ahead of us involved some rather... interesting... situations of which I wish not to discuss, but will do so anyhow. Well... actually... It's worth telling. Can't you hear my maniacal laughter already? Good.  
  
The plan for the night ahead of us all was one of those all-to- atrocious group date things. Maybe you don't know what I'm talking about? Let me enlighten you. A group date is where everyone finds a date for the night and their dates bring their friends, and their friends bring their dates, and their dates bring their friends, and so the vicious cycle continues until you have enough people to buy out every cinema feature at the theature and form an angry mob if anyone should be caught with a bad haircut. That is a "normal" group date. Though, we are not normal, and because of this, our group dates are not normal.  
  
Our group date consisted of Selphie and I (both eager to start the evening) Quistis and her latest reading encapturment (the woman is her own library), Zell and some chick from the library (I was amazed that Zell even knew what a library was), an oddly amused Rinoa (lookin' good as ever) and her personal slave, the ever silent soldier (I don't think Squall like's this kind of thing that much...). What we do on these dates may seem fairly normal, but what happens while we're doing them is a completely different story.  
  
Everyone of us has the ultimate goal to get Squall either hilariously intoxicated or insanely hyper. Neither of the two should be underestimated as "easy". Oh, no, my friend, this is one of the longest struggles I've ever been through that has been still unsuccessful, not to mention that I haven't either given up on or shot him yet. That is one lucky SeeD.  
  
Maybe no one tries harder at getting Squall out of character than I do. Rinoa tries, she's just more subtle about it - given the "feelings" and all - Selphie has dubbed it a lost cause, Zell is afraid to try, Quistis is unsuccessful, the girl at the library dosen't do much of anything, and I'm just blunt and straightforward. "Hey, Squall, let me buy you a shot or 20?" He'll come around one day... maybe.  
  
Given the necessary information, you can probably tell that we go to a pub. Wow, you're smarter than you look.  
  
A pub. What's abnormal about that? Nothing at all. Last time, though, Zell got in a 12 fights with some of the other guys visiting that night and came out of there at four in the morning completely mutilated. Selphie was beginning to slur. I, of course, was just fine, excusing the fact I could hardly see where I was going. Quistis had drunken nothing but water and had recluded to a corner to read (I am seriously beginning to wonder why she comes with us at all). Rinoa isn't much of a drinker, appearantly, and Squall dosent get drunk. After that we go walking around and find places to have fun like clubs, shops, anywhere that is open that late and allows people to walk around half drunk.  
  
Last night, though, we weren't going to a pub. We were going out to eat and then we would probably go walking around the city, going through shops and hanging out. It didn't turn out to be exactly what I would call fun, what happened last night. It scared me a bit and gave me some pretty weird dreams. Oh yeah! Incase you were wondering, that part comes last.  
  
Anyone who knows Rinoa knows that she's not the type to get herself drunk, or drink more than maybe a half glass of wine at one time. Though, when she does get drunk, it's kind of scary. Last night she and Squall both got a bit drunk, but the effect was much different than you would think. Squall was pretty funny though, while Rinoa... Rinoa was mean. That's odd, too, because she's the very epitome of nice as I see it. Someone care to explain this? Ah... you want the whole story, don't you? Then the whole story you shall have...  
  
Selphie finished telling me about the ghosts in her apartment, Bob, Jed, and Earl... or whatever there names were, when we got to the central complex of Balamb Garden. We stood infront of the directory as we waited for the others to show up. As expected, Quistis was first to show, though, oddly enough she was looking rather pleased to go on this "group date" thing (whatever happened to her book?). To add to the mild surprise of Quistis being happy about tonight's plan was the big surprise that she was dragging Zell along behind her as her... date? Whatever happened to the girl from the library?  
  
There was the four of us standing infront of the directory and then there was the two that were missing. My Anna of Green Gables voices just chirps into my head suddenly 'My, my, wherever could they be?' (I really hate that voice). We proceeded to wait for about ten more minutes as Selphie began explaining the whole thing about George, Bill, and Sam (I give up with the damn names, already!) to our two blond teammates. Something inside of me just bursted with joy when I saw Rinoa and Squall heading our way. Ok, so that was a lie. I actually just kind of tipped my hat to keep the sun out of my eyes.  
  
The odd thing I noticed about Squall and Rinoa, though, as they headed towards us, was that Rinoa wasn't having to tug on Squall's arm every two seconds to keep him walking. This time it was actually Squall who was having to drag Rinoa along like a dog, and neither of them looked very happy about anything. If you can get the mental picture of what I was seeing here, you would probably be a bit on the 'Holy-Shit-What's-Wrong'- side too. When they approached us, the greeting was very breif, and cold.  
  
I took a step towards the two as they approached. "Hey, guys! What's up?!"  
  
Squall gave me an acknowledging glance and Rinoa scowled, jerking her arm free of Squall's grip. The two stood side by side, a fairly large gap them, firing glares at each other and everyone else. Something was definately wrong here.  
  
"What's wrong you guys?" Selphie stepped up beside me glancing from one to the other, she was closely followed by Zell and Quistis.  
  
"...Nothing." Squall was monotoneous and quiet as ever, not really looking as angry as the ravenhaired sorceress (a fair distance away but still) beside him.  
  
"Are we going or are we going to stand around and talk about weather, too?" Rinoa's voice was solemn and icy as she narrowed her eyes and shot our silent leader another glare.  
  
If you have never seen Rinoa very angry your missing something. She kind of resembles one of those amazonian women who wear snakes around their neck and arms... except without all of that bulging muscle. I can't help but wonder what Rinoa would look like in the primitive bikini and snakes. Heh, Selphie would kill me.  
  
The garden had docked about a week ago just outside of Deling City for some imediate repairs (which still haven't been repaired), so of course, we planned on going into Deling. No where else... Just Deling. The keywords here are "we planned". Are you getting an idea on what happened? Good.  
  
We got into Deling at about 8:30 in the evening and all of us headed out to find a place to eat dinner. Squall and Rinoa seemed to be keeping a good distance away from each other, I noticed. It was quite funny to watch, actually.  
  
Squall, being his natural self, wanted to stay at the back of the group (probably to avoid socializing), as Rinoa did, given her pissy mood. Though, because Rinoa was already at the back, Squall wouldn't go back there. Whenever Rinoa moved the slightest inch infront of anyone, Squall would take a leaping jump to the back and make Rinoa mingle amidst the group. This went on and on in a vicious cycle of glaring and silent cursing (damn, Squall, don't make the sorceress mad). Whenever either of them were asked what was going on, it was the same responce '...'. People like this are no fun to talk to.  
  
"Hey Rinoa?" I glanced at the girl, walking silently to my left.  
  
"Hm?" She glanced at me slightly, not seeming so viciously mean now that she was away from the 'almighty silent one'.  
  
"How are you doing?" Ok, I know how to communicate with women, I don't deny it. I can tell what they're thinking, kind of. The only girl I really can't read like a book is Selphie, and that's what I love so much about her -- she's spontaneous. Rinoa, though, has always been rather difficult, I admit. When she became a sorceress, though, the mind pattern I had began to adapt from her changed entirely, and now I can read very little of her, but enough to get a general idea. Anyway, when talking to a woman about something she dosent really want to talk about, as I've seen, start into a relating subject that's very general and open for discussion and slowly narrow down onto the topic. It is garunteed to always work!  
  
Rinoa narrowed her eyes quickly, "I'm not telling you anything, Irvine."  
  
I can't believe it didn't work.  
  
Now, naturally the average guy would just give up or hold a gun to her head so she'd tell him... Well, Seifer would, but I'm not the type to do either so I'll try to get it out of her persuasively. That should work.  
  
"Don't even consider the 'power of persuasion', Irvine. I'm not falling for it." Rinoa crossed her arms staring straight ahead as she walked.  
  
Damn! Why isn't anything working!?  
  
This is where I start to get a little bit desperate.  
  
"Rinoa, tell me!" I put on my whining voice, drop my dignity and begin to beg. "I wanna know! You're no fun when you're mad!"  
  
Is she made of ice suddenly? She just glares at me.  
  
"...Shut up, Irvine. I'm not in the mood to talk." She dropped her glare and began to watch her feet mournfully as she walked.  
  
Feeling a bit depressed myself, I do what any decent man would do at a time like this and give her what she want's. Silence.  
  
The restraunt was a casual place, but nice none-the-less. We got a seat towards the back and all picked up our menus to look over what was for dinner.  
  
"Hey, Irvy?"  
  
I smile, turning my head to my 'friend'. "Hi, Sefi."  
  
"What are you getting?"  
  
Oh yes, the most famous question asked by girlfriend's out for dinner on a date. Oh... did I just say 'girlfriend'? I guess that kind of slipped. Though, honestly, you already figured that out, didn't you? Heh, if you didn't you need to brush up on standard comprehension. No joke. Anyway, if your girlfriend asks you this when out on a date, it means either of two things: She dosen't know what half the things on the menu are, or she wants to order something small so she can try eat whatever you get as well. It's a subtle sign of affection.  
  
"Uh... Cheeseburger with fries?" I glanced down the list. Everything else seemed to be some different kind of stir fry, steak, or fish. I'm a simple man, really. Give me some meat and I'll be your friend forever.  
  
"Oh! That sounds good. I think I'll get the stir fry."  
  
Yes, this is the "let me eat off of your plate" deal. I figured as much. Wow! I actually guess Selphie... Heh, this a a very rare occasion. I'm really getting good at this thing.  
  
Indeed, it did not surprise me when Zell asked the waitress, a nice looking woman with black hair and ruby eyes, and a name tag reading "Tifa", if they had hotdogs. Selphie seemed to notice me watching the waitress, for she slapped me as soon as she was gone. Selphie's so good about forgiving people, though.  
  
The table was one of those semicircled booths at the corner of each wall. The order in which we sat was simple from left to right: Squall, Quistis, Zell, Rinoa, Selphie, and me. Squall and Rinoa still don't seem to be making any effort to get along. During the meal, everyone ignored Rinoa and Squall's glaring contest, with great disinterest and fright, and talked normally.  
  
"I think it moved."  
  
"The lobster is dead. I don't think it would still be able to move, Quistis." Zell narrowed his eyes at the seacreature on his blond date's plate. Calmly he picked up a fork. "Look." He pushed the fork forward, poking the lobster.  
  
"AHHHHHH!!!" Quistis shreiked and pressed herself back against the booth and away from the lobster, now up and scuttling across the table.  
  
"AHHHHHH!!!" Zell dropped the fork, pushing himself into standing on his booth seat.  
  
"AHHHHHH!!!" Selphie screamed and shoved me out of my seat onto the floor and piled ontop of my legs.  
  
"DAMNIT!" I hit the ground really hard. I think I broke something.  
  
Squall was out of his seat silently, but a bit shocked by the sudden event. As he was standing, Quistis and Zell slid under the table away from the lobster.  
  
The lobster ran across the table falling off, onto the floor in front of me. The thing was three inches from my face. I watched it's crimson pinchers slash wildly like a ferocious beast and I knew this was the end for me.  
  
SPLAT! The almighty silent one saved my life! Ok, so the lobster probably wouldn't have killed me, but still... I watched in awe as Squall's boot came down upon the lobster and crunched the very life out of it. The man is a gift from God, I swear.  
  
We all stood in shock for a moment before the table. Side by side we examined the dead lobster on the floor, ignoring all of the commotion and people staring around us. Slowly, I lifted my gaze to the table, my jaw dropping. Rinoa is the only one left seated, completely unaffected by what just happened. She simply stared at us all and the lobster in mild amusement and continued to poke at her own food with the tip of her drink straw.  
  
Now, tell me this truthfully. Who "forgets" to cook a lobster? If your answer was a complete dumbass, then your my new best friend. How does burning down this resteraunt sound to you? They put me in serious danger with that damn lobster. It scared the hell out of me! ...I might go back there someday.  
  
So, we left soon after that incident to go look around the city. I was day dreaming about food now. Not because I was hungry, but rather for the hell of it. What else is there to think about it? My theory is that humans didn't originally rely on food... I mean if you were a caveman with the absolute sense of a peanut, and you saw an orange, how would you know to eat it? Or are humans originally supposed to just wonder around aimlessly shoving different things into their mouths. I think even a peanut would know better than that. Wouldn't they have worried that eating it would kill them or something? Or did they even know about death... Whoa! Off subject, sorry about that, got a bit carried away. While I was thinking about all of this everyone else was joking and laughing behind me. Though "everyone else" would mean Selphie, Quistis, and Zell. Rinoa and Squall were... Hey, when did they disappear?  
  
I stopped suddenly and turned around, scanning the people, streets, and sidewalks behind us. Uh oh! Definately not good... This could not have been a good thing. I guess you could say I was worried. Rinoa had been acting completely hateful and Squall simply angry. What if she had killed him when nobody was looking and now she was off hiding the body? What if they were still fighting? "We have to stop her before she kills him!" Oops... I wasn't supposed to say that outloud.  
  
The others stopped suddenly, glancing at me and then looking back.  
  
"What are you talking about, Irvine?" Quistis arched a very thin blond eyebrow at me as Zell's face scrunched together in confusion.  
  
"Uh..."  
  
"Oh no! Where are Squall and Rinoa?!" Selphie glanced around eagerly.  
  
"Exactly-"  
  
"I don't think she'd ever kill Squall, though..." Selphie frowned, her face grave, as her eyes scanned about more frantically.  
  
Do you remember the thing about Rinoa being an amazon? Well, take the image of Rinoa, sorceress of the amazons, with a spear in one hand and a dead and bloody Squall hanging off of it's tip, possibly missing and eye or two. Why is he missing the eyes, you ask? Well, my only guess is that she ate them. Yes... Scary isn't it?  
  
"Ok, we'll just go back and look for them." Quistis was the first to turn an start walking. We all followed.  
  
Do you know how many people come out at night in Deling? Everyone comes out when the sun goes down. It's like a city of Vampires or something... I wanna live here. Moving on, we ended up spliting into two groups and we agreed to meet up on the path leading to the giant Deling gate. The Deling gate... brings back memories.  
  
Me and Selphie headed off towards the way we had come from, while Zell and Quistis went to the next street over, not far from Caraway's mansion.  
  
"Sir, do you have any gil? Please, I only need a few! Sir?"  
  
Beggers. They exist everywhere. I'm not a mean guy, I'm actually pretty nice. It's just if you give a mouse a cookie, then he'll want some milk, ya know? If I give this lady money, then the old man beside her will want some, and so will the two men leaning against the bus stop sign, and eventually I've become a bank. I'm not rich! So, I usually ignore them, but then I've got to remember Selphie's with me.  
  
I continued walking, Selphie beside me, ignoring the woman basically, suddenly there's a tugging at my coat.  
  
"Irvy... That lady needs some money... Can't we give her some?" She looks up at me her childish face innocent and sweet. How can I turn down such a pretty girl?  
  
"Selphie... I-"  
  
"It's just a little bit." Her eyes begin to plead as her grip on my coat tightens.  
  
I sighed and turned to the woman, smiling, "I would be happy to help you, ma'am." I pulled out a few gil and placed it in her outstretched hand, "There you go. Have a nice evening."  
  
The woman smiled and nodded, mumbling her thanks and running off quickly.  
  
I smiled for a moment, I had done a good thing. A selfless good deed. Wow... I like that feeling I should help people more often.  
  
"Sir, please, could you spare some spare gil?" The old man against the wall looked up at me sadly. His poverty was evident at his attire and appearance.  
  
I smiled again and handed the money to him promptly. "Good evening sir."  
  
"Sir! May I have some extra gil?"  
  
My smile faultered but I handed over the money.  
  
"A little bit of help for the needy?"  
  
Damn... another one?  
  
"My son is sick, I need some money, please!"  
  
Uh oh...  
  
"Mister, I need money too!"  
  
"Me too!"  
  
"And me!"  
  
"I need money as well!" This one isn't even homeless.  
  
"Can I have some money."  
  
Shit.  
  
Now, I seriously don't know where the hell all of the hobos came from, but they were there! Millions of dirty little hands outstretched and pleading for my money. Hungry faces and eyes pleading and beckoning. Their dirt and grime running over my coat. They're swamping me. Oh God... I'm downing in dirty hobos! Ah!! I can't breathe! There's just too many!  
  
Ok... So, I overexaggerated a little... Just a bit... Ok, a lot. It was very scary at the time, though. So, of course, I ran like hell fire, dragging Selphie close behind. We got out eventually, but we didn't find Squall or Rinoa. I found a woman who was wearing a really tacky blue hat, though...  
  
Discouraged at out unsuccess at finding either of the two group members, me and Selphie began our walk (down the other street -- less hobos, more air) back to the passage to the gate. On the way there we talked. I love talking to my Sefi.  
  
"Hey, Sefi..."  
  
"Yes, Irvy?"  
  
"What are you thinking?"  
  
"I dunno..." She smiled shyly, "Why are you asking?"  
  
"I was just wondering..."  
  
"Hey, Irvy..."  
  
"Yes, Sefi?"  
  
"What are you thinking?"  
  
"I'm thinking of how pretty you are in the city lights... And in the regular lights... And in the dark..." I chuckled as she gave me a playful shove, "And how much I really like you..."  
  
She giggled softly, and took my hand swinging it happily as we walked. "Irvy, will you always be here?"  
  
I smiled down at her, wrapping my arm around her, drawing her closer, "I'm here whenever you need me."  
  
When we got to the path, Zell and Quistis were already waiting, infront of them sitting Rinoa and Squall (looking rather alive, thank God). I believe I was actually expecting to see Rinoa dressed as an amazon or something because she looked strange when I first saw her. I really have to stop thinking about that...  
  
So, Rinoa and Squall don't appear to be angry at each other anymore. Squall seems back to normal while Rinoa... Is that a coy smile I see upon her lips? Ah... It's small, but it's definately there. Now I'm just very confused. First they were angry, now she's smiling and... Wait a minute... Yea, I'm most definately lost.  
  
"Where were you guys?" I stomped up, folding my arms across my chest, infront of then.  
  
Rinoa smiled, an odd glint in her eye. "Wouldn't you like to know..."  
  
"Eh!?" Ok, this one of those things I really don't need to know, isn't it? I looked back and forth from her to Squall who dropped his sheild to roll his eyes at the comment. "You two...here?!"  
  
Rinoa blinked and then fell into a quick fit a laughter, "No. Irvine you have such a one track mind..." She shook her head.  
  
"Oh... Heh! That's not true! Where were you?" I glanced at Squall who glanced at Rinoa who glanced at me. It looked really cool... Guess you'd just have to see it for yourself.  
  
The ravenhaired girl opened her mouth, though not a bit of sound escaped it before Squall reached over and silencing her with his hand, and throwing her a warning glance.  
  
She moved his hand and smiled, "I saw an old lady with a really tacky blue hat and I wanted to go talk to her. On the way to catch up with you guys we got lost, and ended up settling our... argument." She paused before the last word and then smiled again.  
  
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Squall place a hand to his head and hold back a sigh.  
  
"..."  
  
"Where are we going now?" Zell glanced up at us from where he sat on the ground.  
  
"I was hoping we could find a magazine shop, quickly. I payed for an order of this foreign magazine, which is supposed to be in by today, and I was hoping to pick it up while we were out here." The lovely blond Quistis Trepe begins to guide us to the shop, looking a bit confused. She glanced back once at Rinoa, and questioned lightly, "Did you say it was on the outskirts of the city?"  
  
Rinoa, in the back, still walking that same awkward distance from Squall, nodded, smiling. There was something very weird about that couple tonight.  
  
We had nothing better to do, so we decided to follow Quistis to this magazine shop, where ever it is. Why does she look like she dosen't know where she's going?  
  
Two hours later, we are in the middle of nowhere, somewhere out near the continent peninsula, for I can see the Toomb of the Unknown King out in the fog, to our left. Yes, that's right. It's night time and we're lost in the fog on a seemingly endless plain near the place where some dead rich guy was buried. How the hell do we get ourselves into these things? This defies logic!  
  
I've been thinking over the matter of Rinoa's story of how she and Squall got lost and "made up". Rinoa has lived in Deling for almost all of her life. How does one who is has lived somewhere since they were born, get so easily lost in their hometown? That's almost like not knowning which way to open a paper bag. At least she saw the blue-hat lady, too... That was a really ugly hat.  
  
Anyway, I'm straying off-topic. Have you ever been lost, in wide open plains, in the fog, at night, near the burial ground of some dead rich guy, with a group of five somewhat... mentally challenged... teenagers? It's scary as hell. It was like silently, as we wondered around, each of us became somehow bound to our fear, and now we were all jumping at even the slightest noises.  
  
Except for Squall and Rinoa. The first, stone cold and silent, in the back of our little "posse" wasn't so much as afraid as he was alert. He was simply cautious... As for Rinoa, she seemed to be following his example. She did keep glancing back behind us occasionally, though. And I was about to piss in my pants if I got anymore freaked out. We all knew we were lost, but no one had said anything since the fog had fallen. It's almost like we were afraid that my making sound, we would draw the spirits to us.  
  
I'm very skeptic about paranormal activity, have you noticed? Though, I seem rather vulnerable to believing it in such occassions as this. I don't think I was helping Selphie with her fear, since I was the one clutching on to her for dear life. She seemed to respond my clutching to me tightly, as well, and we moved forward slowly in a sort of huddled stance. Damn me for leaving my gun at home.  
  
The bitter wind caught up to us, suddenly, as we traveled in eerie silence. It nipped at our fingers and faces, but something kept us from turning back. I could hardly tand to look behind us at Squall and Rinoa, who did not seem at all "freaked out". Rinoa was the only one who ever peered back to the direction from whence we came. What the hell was going on, anyway?  
  
I felt Selphie shudder against me and remembered that she was not dressed very appropriately for such cold weather. I paused, taking off my coat and throwing it around her, pulling it close in the front, and she began to shake her head in protest. I silenced her with a smile, though, and we continued to walk, for the first time I was feeling the real cold of these plains without my coat. Why did I suddenly feel so vulnerable?  
  
Suddenly, I heard it. A cry from out in the night.  
  
We all paused and Selphie's breathing sped up rapidly, and again I felt our uneasiness to speak. I managed to glance back at Squall and Rinoa, who were both standing at the back of our little group. Squall's face had gone somewhat paler than usual, and he glanced at Rinoa with his most visable expression of worry-- which wasn't much. The sorceress, though, wasn't looking at any of us. Instead, she was concentrated on something out in the fog. I then realised she was looking at the toomb.  
  
All of us seemed to be holding our jackets closed tightly, except for Rinoa, seemingly unaffected by the chill temperature, who continued to peer out into the fog. Ok, this was getting a little more creepy than I was really comfortable with. I gulped, as I watch Rinoa narrow her eyes on something out in the fog, and she moved to take a step towards it, when she paused-- as if suddenly remembering the rest of us were here.  
  
She coughed slightly, noticing all of us watching her, and she began to fidget, "I... I thought I saw something." She glanced to Squall, a little distance beside her, who was giving her a slightly questioning look, and she shrugged in reply.  
  
"Did anyone else hear that?" I figured that since Rinoa thought it ok to speak, I could do so as well. I still kept my voice quiet, though. "That sound... Did anyone else hear it?"  
  
A chorus of bobbing heads replied in affirmative silence, and turned to face Quistis, "Are you sure you need to pick up that magazine tonight?"  
  
Unfortunately my question, sarcastic as it was as it was obvious that something else was happening to us, was muffled as the wind picked up, and Rinoa snapped her eyes back to the toomb again as the cry came again.  
  
It was distant, as if coming from far off, and from the direction of the toomb. It was a high pitched wail, slightly on the alto-tenor scale, the gender of the supplier was unidentifiable. It was at that moment that I really wanted to run. I was sweating somehow, despite being jacketless in the cold wind, yet I could feel the vibration of my teeth as they chattered, and my heart rate sped up quickly, pounding into my ears-- It was so loud, I'm willing to bet the other's heard it. Yet, I think I could hear their hearts, too.  
  
It was an understatement to say that we were terrified, yet Rinoa seemed the least affected of all of us. Her fear seemed to go no farther on the scale than "a little bit disturbed".  
  
Squall approached Rinoa, standing almost directly beside her, and took her wrist in his hand, squinting in the dirction of the toomb-- his eyes searching for whatever she was looking at. He tugged her arm lightly, and she snapped out of her trance to look back at him, slightly shaken.  
  
It was then that I noticed Squall wasn't carrying his lion heart. What the fuck!? Since when did "Mr. My Weapon Goes Everywhere I Go" stop carrying his weapon everywhere he went? And, right when it might actually be useful! Oh, the irony!  
  
You know, any person with the least amount of common sense would say, "Hey, this is creepy. Let's go back, now." But--  
  
"I think we should go check it out." Squall's voice was low, and serious as ever, even though he did seem a bit reluctant to say the words.  
  
--But, we were not blessed with any wise gurus of common sense! We had to be blessed with a bunch of SeeDs and their fucking will to correct all wrongs and right all evils and whatever! Why me!? Why me!?  
  
The group is looking a bit nervous by now, and Zell is not afraid to raise his voice a little, it seems:  
  
"Are you out of you mind, Squall!?" The blond boy's eyes are bulging, and he's shaking worse than Scooby on those old Scooby Doo shows, when the ghosts were near. "We can't do that! It could-- It could kill us! It could possess us and use us for evil purposes!"  
  
Even Quistis was nodding in agreement, "I don't think it's the best time to be checking this out, anyway. We don't have our weapons, and it's late..." She drifted off, frowning.  
  
Selphie and I just stared towards Squall (Or should I call him Freddie, in this case?) in dispair. There was no way he could be serious about making us go to that toomb! It just can't be! I refuse to go! I will absolutely not go. There's no way they can make me!  
  
So, when we finally got to the toomb (damn it, I didn't want to come here), we all stood in a moment of uneasy and slightly terrified silence. Oh, well. At least we're here together, right? There's always more power in numbers, eh?  
  
"I think we could get through this much faster if we were to split up." Rinoa looks quite interested, as she wlks forward a bit, perching on the crumbling stones of the steps, to look at us all. "I guess we should go in partners, so..." She shrugged, something finalizing that we would all be stuck searching the toomb with our significant-others this night.  
  
Now, don't get me wrong here. I love Selphie more than anything, but when it comes to being scared shitless on a ghost hunt through some rich dead guy's grave, I really would rather be with someone more protecting... Like Squall. I would have said Rinoa, but she is really freaking me out tonight, so... I'll go with stone-cold-and-silent here.  
  
It seemed that Zell and Quistis were also thinking the same thing (Selphie just clutched onto me tighter, as if her squeezing the life out of me was going to scare away the evil), for they both seemed very uncomfortable at hearing this. Damnit! They make horror movies that start out likes this (and for all you Detroit Rock City lovers: I don't think they make pornos that start out like this)!  
  
Squall nodded and and quickly organized a plan. "Quistis and Zell will head right, once inside, and go from there. Irvine and Selphie, take the left and open the bridge. You two will be responsible for checking the sarcophagus's chamber. Rinoa and I will take the surrounding courtyards."  
  
The courtyards? What is there to check in the courtyards? It's just a yard full of crumbling rocks-- what's there to look for? How come Selphie and I are in charge of checking the sarcophagus?! There is something very, very, wrong about this.  
  
My eyes flicker over and meet those of Zell, and I can tell our thoughts match. Silently scheming, we nod, and all of us head inside as directed, without a fuss. Right when we are to split paths, and head our seperate ways, I glance back to see Squall and Rinoa sharing some kind of sly smile, and a thought clicks in my head. Changing our assigned tactics, I jerk the blond-boy by the collar, with us, and he in-turn drags Quistis with him, all four of us heading left.  
  
Our two blond team-mates, about to scream, were stopped suddenly when they saw who it was.  
  
"Irvine, what are you doing?!" Quistis whispered, questioningly, as I drug them into the corridor both Selphie and I had paused in.  
  
I backed up against the wall, and leaned back, crossing my arms and staring very seriously at all three of their very confused looks. "Are any of you guys a little suspicious about what's been going on between Squall and Rinoa?"  
  
Selphie rolled her eyes, "Oh, c'mon, Irvy! It's called love. You see, when a girl and a guy--"  
  
"No!" I sighed, exasperatedly, and frowned at them, "Haven't you guys noticed how they've been acting... strangely... all evening?" I paused for response, and upon receiving their blank looks began to explain myself, "I mean, first they were angry at each other, then that lobster in the resteraunt scared the shit out of all of us, and Rinoa was sitting there without a care in the world. Then Rinoa and Squall get 'lost' in Deling, which Rinoa should know by heart, since she's lived their for most of her life. Then they have suddenly 'mysteriously' made up, and continue to act weird..." He turned to Quistis, "Where was your magazine store, anyway?"  
  
The blond woman shrugged, "I don't know. Squall came to me this morning and said that there had been a message to the Headmaster's office about some foreign magazine I ordered had come in. I remember ordering it only yesterday, though, over the phone, so I hadn't been to the store, yet. Rinoa said that it was on the outskirts of the city, though..."  
  
I nodded, slowly, taking this in, "Then Rinoa gives you weird directions to some place on the outskirts of the city, and we end up on the planes, at night, in the fog. As we find ourselves closer to the grave of some anonymous ancient dead rich guy, we begin to hear strange screams, and Rinoa begins to see weird things off in the fog-- which even sorceresses can't see through! Then, we get dragged down here, conveniantly, none of us have weapons, and split up into groups to search for some damn ghost-- which can't exist because ghosts just don't exist! And conveniantly the two of them are searching the 'courtyard', whilst we go look in some weird dude's sarcophagus!"  
  
Three faces stared back at me, suddenly enlightened, as the facts began to click within their minds.  
  
Quistis frowned, thinking, "I still don't understand, though... Why? I mean, what are they trying to do? And why are they doing it?"  
  
"I don't know!" Some people just don't understand these things. Tsk, tsk. "They could be doing anything! Maybe they're trying to get rid of us?! Maybe they're trying to awaken some ancient dead spirits to possess our bodies and run wildly upon the earth making it some sort of living hell?! Or maybe they're even forming some deviant sort of plan of using us as human sacrifices as Squall becomes Rinoa's knight, and Rinoa goes psycho- ultamecia-bitch on the world again?!"  
  
Zell was practically jumping, where he stood, worry covering all of his features, "Oh, man, this is not good! This is so not good!" He looked up at us, "I say we get out of here, right now, damnit!"  
  
Biting her lip, Selphie nodded silently, and latched onto my arm for support.  
  
"But... We're still not sure." Quistis, rubbed her hands together slowly, in the heavy chill, narrowing her gaze, "We simply can't make assumptions as drastic as that, Irvine. It dosen't make sense to me that Squall would want to head in Seifer's path. He loathes Seifer--"  
  
"But, he loves Rinoa!" I interjected, quickly, to shut her up. Sometimes I wish she wasn't so skeptical, but I suppose she does it for our own good.  
  
She was silenced, and a deep frown covered her face, "One of us should go watch them... Hide somewhere and listen to their conversations." She glanced around at us, her gaze stopping on Selphie, "How about it?"  
  
I could feel her stiffen against my arm, as the question was asked. Finally, she stood straight, letting go of me (my arm suddenly felt cold without her), and she nodded, her face hardening. "I'll go watch."  
  
The blond woman smiled, a small one, and pat Selphie on the shoulder, "If you hear anything, or see anything, come find us. We'll be making our way to the sarcophagus."  
  
I watched as Selphie frowned, and glanced at each of our faces, "Ok... Just travel slowly, incase it really is something big, ok?" Her eyes stopped, meeting mine, "Be careful."  
  
She looked so sad that moment, and I reached out to embrace her, kissing her gently on the forhead to soothe her worry. "We'll be careful." I let her go and she walked, slowly and silently back down the corridor, and out into the yard.  
  
As soon as she left, I turned back to the two blonds in front of me. I immediately noticed Zell's obnoxiously weird smile, and growled when I heard him pronounce in a highly-unbelievable falcetto female voice, "Oh, Irvy! Be careful!"  
  
I narrowed my eyes and shoved him, "Fuck off, man."  
  
We turned to head towards the drawbridge controls, when suddenly there was a loud scream from quistis, and I wheeled around to see her staring at me in fright with a leather-gloved hand covering her mouth, trying to muffled the screams. The blond man beside her, looked equally mortified.  
  
"What!? What is it!?" I exclaimed looking around, but her screaming only got increases as my back was turned, and Zell let out a small, frightened whimper.  
  
"Would somebody tell me what the hell it is!?" I was glancing around me now, paranoid. What were they so horrified at? What was it? I watched them as Quistis tried to regain her voice.  
  
"S-s-s... S-s...! It's a big s-s-s... A s-s-s...!" She shook her head frantically, then finally screamed, "I-Itsareallybigspideronyourback!" She screamed again and covered her mouth.  
  
"A what?!" I screamed back, confused and anxious.  
  
"A SPIDER! ON YOUR BACK! IT'S HUGE!" She screamed, and bit her lips, drawing back in terror.  
  
And suddenly, I realized that there was a rather unusal amount of weight on my back, and I felt my eyes bulge, nearly out of the sockets. It must have crawled onto me when I leaned back on the wall--  
  
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! OH SHIT!!!! GET IT OFF!!! GET IT OFF!!! GET IT OFF!!!" I was desperate. I hate spiders, and bugs of any kind, "PLEASE!!! JUST GET IT OFF ME!!! GET IT OFF OF ME NOW!!!"  
  
Zell, my saviour, reached forward, grabbing the hat that rested upon my head, as Selphie had given it back earlier, and motioned for me to turn around. Slowly, I did as I was told, and I felt as he swatted the thing off.  
  
There was a loud screech of evil, and a thump as the spider hit the wall, and tumbled to the floor, only to get up and scuttle off into the darkness. I swear I will never rest in peace until that thing is dead. Oh... It sickens me to know it still lives.  
  
Everyone calmed down, and began checking themselves and the walls around us for other big hair creatures of doom. When we found none, we stood their silently, me putting my hat back on. That is something that I pray to God may never happen again. Never!  
  
We each then set out on our journey to let down the drawdridge for access to the center. We traveled in relative silence, reaching the controls with some minor confusion (minor is going in circles for about five minutes, major is ending up at flood gate after going in circles for five hours). We flipped the switch and headed towards the centre without trouble... Well, it seemed that way at first.  
  
We were walking silently, all of us still rather nervous and suspicious of what exactly was going on (not to mention we were looking out for spiders, we happened to see one or two, but they were safely avoided). The suspense was building within me, as I began to wonder... What exactly were we supposed to be looking for in that sarcophagous?  
  
I could feel my hairs begin to prick as a cold draft sifted through the corridor. We were approaching the bridge. That was when I heard it, again...  
  
The cry that we had originally heard far off, in the fog, we now heard again. Though, it was coming from somewhere inside or right at the opening of the toomb, I could tell by its volume and the way it's agony and blood-curling pitch resounded and echoed off of the dingy walls.  
  
We all froze immediately, and my heart almost leapt out of my chest with worry as I thought of Selphie. What if it had been Selphie that had just screamed? What if she was in danger?! I had to get out of that toomb immediately! I darted towards the hallway leading perpendicular to ours, determined to find a way out, when to sets of arms grabbed me from behind and pulled me back. I looked back to see Zell and Quistis, faces covered with worry and fright.  
  
Quistis gulped and whispered to me, the fear showing on her voice, "You can't go out there. Not yet--"  
  
I could feel my eyes widen as I stared at her in disbelief, "It could be Selphie! She could be hurt! I have to get to her--"  
  
She released her grip, and moved one hand to rest softly on my shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly, "Selphie's a trained SeeD, if she gets into any danger, she'll know how to best handle it--"  
  
"Alone against a sorceress!? And what about her knight, huh!? How is she supposed to handle--"I was cut off, as Zell cut in a tone that was far to serious, and unlike the blond boy's character.  
  
"Irvine, if it is true that Rinoa and Squall have betrayed SeeD, Selphie is probably the least of their worries. That scream was the same scream that we heard out on the plains, and I know it wasn't Selphie screaming then, it's not her screaming, now." He paused, his ears almost visably perking up, like a dog's (again with the Scooby Doo comparisons), as he listened.  
  
We all paused to listen as well, and we heard it. Footsteps. They were traveling at a semi pace between walking and jogging. They rounded a corner, in one of the halls, and continued, coming closer. We froze, unable to move, and simply stood in silence and terror as our breaths condensed into small clouds of mist before our faces. My throat was beginning to ache with breathing so hurridly and so much through my mouth.  
  
The footsteps drew closer, and I began to panic, the sweat covering my brow again, despite the cold chill that the atmosphere and fear of impending doom were both causing me. My heart was loud in my ears, and my head was beginning to throb at the constant sound. Shouldn't we be running for our lives? Wait... We didn't do that when we fought Ultamecia, did we? All those battles with Matron, and all those chances we could have died, yet we stayed to fight, right?  
  
I decided then that I would be damned if I started running now.  
  
And so we waited as the footsteps drew closer, speeding up, and we could hear the deep breaths of whoever... or whatever... it was, that was approaching. Then all at once, the sounds crossed their distance to round the corner.  
  
Selphie, panting and nearly doubled over with fear, stumbled into the hall and leaned against the wall to remain standing. I quickly ran forward, pulling her pale form from the wall, and looked at her back, "Don't touch the walls." I breathed heavily, and helped her over to where the three of us had been standing before.  
  
She nodded, and my heart leapt. She was ok! She was standing here before me still alive and breathing-- suddenly I wanted to tackle her, but felt that would be unnecessary, given the situation we were currently in... and the company (maybe we should have split up, after all).  
  
Quistis nearly jumped, and smiled to see Selphie, she rushed forward, "Well? Did you find out anything about what's going on?"  
  
Nodding, Selphie wound her way over to lean against the wall while she talked, but was quickly misdirected due to seeing a large arachnid lurking nearby, and ended up leaning against me instead, "I did as you told me, and hid behind one of those pillars beside the entrance. They were arguing... It was pretty bad. I've never seen then argue like that before..."  
  
"What were they fighting about?" Zell spoke up, beside Quistis.  
  
She shook her head, "Lots of things. Rinoa was worried about the screams that we kept hearing, before coming over here, and she was claiming to have seen something in the fog. But, Squall didn't believe her, and he was telling her that she shouldn't have tried to scare us like that." She frowned, "Though, Rinoa kept saying she didn't cause those screams, and that she didn't know where they came from."  
  
"Is that all?" I asked, thinking it over, "Did they mention why they wanted us to check the sarcophagous?"  
  
She paused, and then bit her lip before speaking, "They knew that we were coming out here... But, I didn't hear how or why. She was walking to the edge of the yard, and looking out into the fog again, in that weird way from earlier, and then something screamed! Another one of those screams that we heard out in the fog, except it was a lot closer, this time. Then Rinoa just started freaking out! She was about to come looking for us, but Squall stopped her and said that it was her idea, and that they should look for the source of the scream while we are still in here." She took a deep breath, "I say we go ahead and open up the sarcophagus... That might give us a clue to what is going on around here. That's what we were supposed to do anyway, right?"  
  
Quistis flinched before asking, but proceeded with her question, "Did either of them mention anything along the lines of world domination...?"  
  
Selphie opened her mouth to respond, but paused when her eyes caught on somehing across the bridge. She stood, growing paler by the moment, "There's something... Something..." Her breathing grew rapid and her eyes widened, as she peered into the center of the toomb.  
  
Nodding, Zell began across the bridge first, "Well, whatever it is, we're about to find out. No use in delaying the inevitable."  
  
Behind him, Quistis nodded, followed by me and Selphie, reluctantly.  
  
As we entered the chamber one by one, we saw that all was empty aside from the sarcophagous of stone that remained in the center of the room. We all filed in, glancing around in a sort of ferenzic paranoia. Selphie had saw something moving in here... But where had it gone?  
  
Selphie knellt down by the coffin, fiddling the edges, "Suppose we should open it, eh?"  
  
I suddenly frowned, Selphie had that look in her eyes, like whenever she's up to something, she had to have been in on Squall and Rinoa's little game. But why? What the hell was in that coffin!? Suddenly, she was reaching for the ceals, ready to open the case--  
  
"Wait!" Quistis shouted. We all turned to her, angry for breaking the climax of this scene, "What is in there, anyway?"  
  
Selphie blinked, and then shied away from the box, "I'm not sure..."  
  
We all watched her, in surprise.  
  
She frowned suddenly, "How am I supposed to know? I didn't have anything to do with this damned coffin!"  
  
Suddenly, there was a surge of cold air throughout the room, and she wheeled around to see if something was coming up behind her. Letting out a scream, Selphie scrambled backwards, tripping over the sarcophagous and unlatching the ceal. As she fell to the group, the top of the coffin flew open to reveal--  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" With a sudden rush of adrenaline we were stampeding away from the stone box and what was contained within it, with a mass velocity. Faster than Selphie on a sugar high during a road race, we ran with incredible speed towards the entrance, rounding corners fast enough, that we crashed into the walls on the other side (we ended up squashing several of those damn ugly spiders upon impact), all the while screaming our throats high in a surge of high terror and fright.  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" We raced down the steps, almost colliding with Squall and Rinoa who had just been coming to get us. Rinoa ended up stumbling and falling to the ground as Zell was unable to stop himself in time. She did not stand immediately, but slowly she gained her feet, with the help of Squall's hand. There was something weird about her though...  
  
"It's in there! There's a---!"  
  
"---And it had this---!"  
  
"---It was so scary---!"  
  
"---I think I pissed my pants---!"  
  
"---I've never run like that in my life---!"  
  
"---It had these---!"  
  
"---And it tried to---!"  
  
"---It made this sound---!"  
  
"---It looked like---!"  
  
"---I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GUYS HAD THIS PLANNED!?" Quistis was in a rage suddenly, shoving Squall backwards, "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, SCARING US LIKE THAT!?" She turned suddenly, advancing on Rinoa, who was still looking..."AND YOU! THIS WAS YOUR IDEA, WASN'T IT!? IF I CAN DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT, I WILL HAVE YOU PERSONALLY BANNED FROM GARDEN! YOU MIGHT AS WELL STAY HERE BECAUSE YOU WILL BE OUT THE VERY MINUTE YOU GET BACK ON! IF THIS IS WHAT WE CAN EXPECT FROM A SORCERESS, YOU CAN EXPECT TO BE DETAINED SOON IN THE FUTURE! WE TRUSTED YOU AND YOU BROUGHT US HERE, TO A PLACE LIKE THIS AND SCARED US TO DEATH!"  
  
She hardly paused when Rinoa let go of Squall's arm, looking limp, and her face...  
  
"THERE IS SOMETHING IN THAT TOOMB, AND YOU WERE STUPID AND FOOLISH ENOUGH TO SUBJECT US TO FALLING VICTIM TO IT!!!" With that, the blond woman raised her hand, slapping Rinoa straight across the face.  
  
Rinoa stumbled back, her face one containing real hurt, but the girl in blue would not put down her pride, and in a simple way, turned back to Quistis and spoke very eloquently and simply, "Happy Halloween."  
  
All of us were silent as she turned away and began walking through the yard back out into the fog-covered planes. She did so without making a sound. Quistis frowned suddenly, becoming calm and sighed, "Great Hyne! I didn't mean that..." She turned to Squall.  
  
The stoic SeeD, simply crossed his arms and glared at the blond, obviously he was quite angry, for when he spoke, his voice shook with an edge I would almost label as leathal, "And what exactly did you see in that coffin that you were 'subject to fall victim to', anyway?"  
  
The blond opened her mouth to speak, but she was silenced by his sneer of disgust (when stone-cold-and-silent gets angry... he gets angry), "There was nothing in the fucking coffin." He responded for her, and without another word, he turned to catch up with Rinoa.  
  
Quistis held her head in her hands, "I can't believe I said all of that... I didn't mean it, I was just upset." She removed her hands, crossing her arms across her chest, "I need to go apologize." She followed after Squall, and Zell went silently with her.  
  
Selphie and I stood there for a moment, before she turned to me, "You know, I had even forgotten it was Halloween until I came out here to spy on Squall and Rinoa." She smiled, seeing we watch her with a slight scowl, "When I came outside, in my hurry, I kinda forgot to be quiet about it, and they let me in on the plan. They were just trying to have some fun, and Rinoa had arranged it all a week ago. She changed her mind about it, though, this morning, and got angry when Squall kept telling her to go through with the plan. So they got in an argument about it and when Squall dragged her off in Deling, they somehow settled that they would go through with it."  
  
I shoved my hands into my pockets still listening, but not responding, "So, they told me to act like I was seeing things, and try to get you guys scared..." She smiled, and leaned to me wrapping her arms around my neck, still wearing my coat. "I'm sorry if it upset you, Irvy."  
  
I couldn't help but turn my head away from her, I was, myself, very upset about this. I had honestly been scared shitless this entire time I was out here, only to find that Rinoa and Squall had been playing tricks on us (I later learned that Rinoa payed the waiter at the resteraunt to go through with the lobster-joke). I was even more bitter tht they had pulled Selphie int their scheming. Though, as I thought about it, I realized that it actually was a pretty good way to celebrate Halloween. I mean, aren't you supposed to be scared on Halloween?  
  
Seeing her smile drop, from the corner of my eye, I turned back and gave her a quick kiss, smiling, "It guess it was pretty cool... I mean, at least we didn't have to put on any weird costumes or anything." Her smile wavered for a moment and she bit her lip, looking up at me.  
  
"You haven't put on any weird costumes... yet, you mean?" That look was back in her eyes. The one she gets when she's planning something mischevious.  
  
"..." Uh oh. This does not sound good. "No. I am not dressing up to make a fool of myself--"  
  
"But, Irvy!" She whined, and began to pull me by the arm, so we could catch up with the others.  
  
As I was looking back at the toomb, I felt my insides freeze. Whatever it was, some sort of white sillhouette in the dark, stood at the entrance to the toomb, watching me as I looked back at it. The last thing I heard before the toomb was lost in the fog was some... laughing.  
  
Though, I quickly forgot it.  
  
"But, Irvy!" She was still whining, taking my silence for refusal to her idea to attend the Halloween Ball in downtown Deling the following evening, "You hafta'! I have the coolest costumes rented! You get to be Zorro!"  
  
"No, Selphie! There's no way you can make me!"  
  
The Halloween Ball was more fun than expected (I didn't want to go, damnit), I was dressed as Zorro, of course, while Selphie wore a beautiful Fiesta dress with a blend of blinding colours. Zell and Quistis were there, everything had turned out ok between them, Squall, and Rinoa, and things seemed back to normal for our group. Zell was dressed as Robin Hood, of course, and didn't seem to be to pleased with his outfit (hey, at least I got a sword and this nifty black cape), and Quistis was Maid Marien (I never would have guessed).  
  
As for Squall and Rinoa... They didn't show up at the dance, though I did see them sometime later in the park, when Selphie and I were walking back to Garden from the dance. They were sitting against a tree, just enjoying their time together under the stars.  
  
It's strange, but when I look at them, I see their happiness. Neither of them are very big on PDA (public displays of affection), but it's easy to tell just by looking. I think they'll stay together. I hope they can see happiness when they look at me and Selphie. I want us to have what they have... I want to just sit against a tree with her one day... Me and Selphie; Selphie and I, just enjoying our time together under the stars.  
  
When we got back to garden, Selphie and I went up to her dorm for a while, as is usual for her, and I told her absolutely everything about the dream I had had last night after arriving back from the Toomb of the Unkown King... Which was nothing. You heard me right: No dream.  
  
This wild and 'wacky' dream I had? 'Didn't happen. My body was so tired that night, that I slept clear through noon today without a dream of any kind. It's kind of a shame, though. I know I'll probably have nightmares about the entire event when I go back to sleep tonight, but there were none.  
  
To think I wasted all that time having been scared shitless, and all I got was one night at a dance in a lousy Zorro costume. Though, I am afraid, everytime I step into the darkness that the white figure that I saw on the steps of the toomb is going to be there. Squall had told us that the coffin was empty, and I admit that none of us really saw anything in it when the lid opened, but we were still afraid, somehow. I'm glad for going through the experience of being so scared, and Selphie's almost got be into believing that she has ghosts -- Jerry, Lou, and George or whatever there names are -- living in her apartment. The keyword to that sentence would be "almost". I'm still doubtful.  
  
Though, I don't think I'll ever forget last night. Every time I step into the darkness, I'll remember it, when I step into the night expecting to see the figure in white, watching me... laughing.  
  
Happy Halloween!  
  
OWARI --- ^_^  
  
  
  
Ending notes :: Couldn't you just see Irvine dressed up as Zorro? Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. Yea, it's pretty cliched, but it was fun to write (Irvine has a fun POV), so I hope it was fun to read. I pray that you would give me comments on it, as I haven't written much FF- related fiction in quite a while, so I ask that you please review. :) Thanks for reading! 


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